


the aftermath

by imnotalady



Category: A Song of Ice and Fire - George R. R. Martin, Game of Thrones (TV)
Genre: F/M, Fluff and Angst, Post battle of Winterfell
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-05-02
Updated: 2019-05-07
Packaged: 2020-02-16 05:18:07
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,715
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18684907
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/imnotalady/pseuds/imnotalady
Summary: Arya and Gendry search for each other after the Battle of Winterfell.Spoilers for s8 ep3!





	1. Arya

**Author's Note:**

> Honestly I can‘t think about anything else since these two became canon 
> 
> I know there are hundreds of fics about this but I just felt really inspired!  
> This is my first attempt at writing, let me know how you like it and if you would like me to add some chapters :))
> 
> (Also, English isn’t my first language so I’m sorry for any mistakes)

He moved faster than she anticipated, swirling around and grabbing her by the throat before she could jump on his back. As his icy grip was choking her a few feet above the ground, Arya wished she had planned her attack better. Her left hand was still holding the dagger above his head, but there was no chance in hell that she could manage to stab him before he would kill her. _Or was there?_

As her skilled look scanned her opponent quickly, she noticed an icy blue spot at his stomach, unprotected by the black leather armour he wore. Suddenly, she knew exactly what she had to do. Her hand opened, letting Littlefinger’s dagger go. The same dagger which was meant to kill her little brother all those years ago and which she had used to execute Baelish. The dagger which would now kill the Night King. _It’s almost poetic_ , she thought.

Before his cold blue eyes could follow, Arya Stark caught the dagger with her right hand and plunged it deep into him, collecting every last bit of strength she had inside of her. The painful grip around her throat disappeared as the Night King burst into a thousand little pieces of ice and she fell to the ground.

Behind her she heard clattering. The White Walkers met the same fate as their leader, one by one they all shattered. The wights surrounding them collapsed to the ground. She could hear the fighting stop and silence falling over the castle.

Arya panted heavily and looked around. The Godswood was scattered with icy shambles and dead bodies. Shakily, she got up from her knees, her hand still holding the dagger. She couldn’t remember where she had lost the dragonglass javelin Gendry had made for her. She couldn’t remember anything, really, the whole battle seemed like a blur of blood, fire and snow. She was sure that the details would soon come rushing back to her, haunting her dreams.

Arya looked at Bran, who was sitting in his wheelchair and didn’t seem surprised at all.

“Thank you, Arya” he said.

For a second she saw a smile flash over his face and she was reminded of the boy he used to be. Her little brother, who loved to climb and who dreamed of becoming a knight someday.

“Did you know the whole time?” Her voice sounded strange, it was little more than a croak. Still, she was surprised she could speak at all.“Did you know what would happen?”

“I have seen everything” he responded, his face becoming blank again.

She nodded, although not being entirely sure what he meant with that. Her thoughts wandered from her little brother to the rest of her family. _Jon. Sansa._ She had to make sure her pack was still alive. As she started to move to the gate, she turned around.

“Do you want me to push you inside?”

“No, I’ll stay here for a little while.”

She followed his look to one of the bodies lying on the muddy ground. The armour was bloody and pierced by a spear, but she could still make out the kraken sigil on it. _Theon_. She bit her lip to stop it from trembling. Arya had never liked Theon very much, but was still a part of her family. She knew he had always regretted taking Winterfell and he had since tried to make up for it. She knew he had saved saved Sansa’s life, now it seemed like he had died saving Bran’s.

 _Father would be proud of him_.

Suddenly, she understood why her brother wanted to stay. Somewhere deep inside the Three-eyed Raven, Brandon Stark wanted to stay with the man who had stood by him until the very end. She nodded slightly.

“I’ll send someone to you as soon as I can.”

 

***

 

Compared to the courtyard, the Godswood looked harmless. The snow was muddy and soaked with blood. All around her were bodies, most of them dead and some barely alive. She didn’t dare look at them, fearing she might recognise their faces. Slowly, she stepped over the corpses and into the direction of the great hall, nearly tripping over a helmet. _Unsullied_ , she thought to herself.

As the rush from the fight faded, Arya started to notice her pain. More specifically, the pain in her head, which got worse by the second and made it almost impossible for her to collect her thoughts. Her ears started ringing and for a moment she thought she might just pass out.

_Not now, you bloody idiot. Focus!_

Angrily she shook her head, took a deep breath and clenched the dagger tighter in her hand. She had endured worse pain before and this wasn’t going to stop her. As her eyes wandered over the yard, she recognised some of the survivors. Jaime Lannister was injured and leaning onto Brienne and her squire. The red-haired wildling was there, too, he seemed to be searching for someone inside the pile of bodies he was standing on. And Jon was there. He limped, his face and armour were stained with blood and dirt, his black hair messier than ever, but he was alive. A warm wave of relief flooded through her body and her eyes started to tear up. He was running towards her.

“Arya! Thank the gods you’re alive!” he exclaimed, pulling her swiftly into his arms. Besides a few minor cuts and bruises he seemed fine, she figured the blood on his clothes must be someone else’s. He put her down with a concerned look on his face.

“Bran’s fine”, she said, knowing what he was about to ask. He looked relieved, but still concerned.

“You’re hurt”, he remarked. She hadn’t even noticed the small wound on her forehead and the blood dripping from one side of her face. Carelessly she wiped the blood away. “It’s nothing, really.” _There are more important things right now_.

But Jon was looking at the mark on her throat. “Where did you get this?”

She opened her mouth but didn’t really know what to say, how to say it. His expression grew even more worried, his dark eyes met hers.

“Arya, who killed the Night King?”

She took a deep breath before answering.

“I did. I killed him.”

Jon’s eyes widened and conflicting emotions flashed over his face, the main one being shock. “How- how’d you do that?”

She smiled weakly. “Stuck him with the pointy end.”

Jon laughed and hugged her again, this time even tighter. Arya laughed with him, but she felt a crippling fear in her stomach when he put her down again. The question she didn’t dare to ask was written all over her face. _Who died? Who didn’t make it?_

“Sansa’s alright”, said Jon quickly, “She’s already busy taking care of the wounded. Tyrion’s with her.” He smiled at her reassuringly. But Arya was still tense. “What about the others?” she asked, her voice thick with fear.

_What about Gendry? Where is he?_

“I’m not sure. I haven’t seen everyone yet, I’m sure they’re still scattered all over the castle.” His face didn’t seem as optimistic as his words, though, and suddenly a painful knot formed in Arya’s gut.

She thought back to the evening she had spent in Gendry’s arms, the way his hands had felt on her skin. Back to the hasty kiss they had shared before they went into battle. Back to the way he had looked at her as he promised he’d stay alive.

_What if he’s already gone?_

“I have to find him” she muttered, more to herself than to Jon, who was eying her with concern but nodded eventually and turned his attention to the arriving soldiers, not before giving her one last puzzled look.

 

***

 

Arya had never seen so many people inside the great hall of Winterfell. The tables had been moved to make more space for the wounded who were beyond counting. She scanned their faces one by one, the knot in her gut growing more painful every minute. He wasn’t there. _Why wasn’t he there?_

She thought about all the frozen corpses she had seen outside and her chest pained at the vision of him lying there, with his piercing blue eyes staring at the sky. A crippling panic dripped through her chest, filling her whole body. It was cold, colder even that the Night King's hand, and it made it hard for her to breathe.

She started to run back outside, into the courtyard which was now filled with people. As she fought through the crowd, she saw her sister’s auburn hair next to Jon’s. They were trying to restore order, giving out instructions to every side. The yard soon cleared up, as nearly half the fighters were sent back to the battlefield to look for survivors.

Arya followed them through the gate, now shaking with fear. Her eyes wandered upon the miles and miles of battlefield disappearing in the dark, upon the piled up corpses. How was she supposed to find him in this chaos?

_He’s gone. He’s lying out there, buried under snow and dead bodies._

Her lips started trembling. She turned to the castle and made her way back to her siblings, who were still standing in the courtyard. Sansa was the first to see Arya, a smile formed on her lips and they hugged.

“I can’t believe my weird little sister killed the Night King” she laughed, “I’m so proud of you.”

Jon was still eying her with the same concerned look from before, and after one glance at Arya’s face her sister’s smile faded as well .

“You alright?”

Arya slightly shook her head, tears filling her eyes. She wanted to speak, but the words got stuck in her throat. She wondered if she ever felt less alright in her entire life. Her legs trembled and just as she was about to give in to her exhaustion, Arya spotted a big, bullheaded man exiting the great hall. Every muscle in her body froze.

Jon and Sansa followed her glance and exchanged a confused look. How did she know the blacksmith?

Gendry was slightly limping, his face full of concern and fear as he searched the remaining crowd for her. His blue eyes met hers and she could see his lips forming her name. The knot in her stomach disappeared and she saw her own smile reflected on his face. For a brief moment they just stood there, watching each other with disbelief, then Gendry crossed the courtyard with a few big steps and pulled her into a fierce embrace. Without even planning it or caring about the fact that everyone was staring at them, Arya pressed her lips on his and wrapped her arms around his neck. He smiled against her mouth, then kissed her back just as passionately and pulled her closer to him.

“You’re bleeding”, he muttered out of breath when they finally stopped kissing, his hands still around her waist.

She ignored his remark. ”I thought you died.”

“Well you told me not to” he smirked, “and who am I to disobey a direct command from my lady?”

Arya punched him playfully, her eyes sparkled at the use of his nickname for her.

“I killed the Night King”, she said, her voice was weirdly shaking. Gendry’s smirk grew even wider. “Of course you did.”

In that moment Gendry seemed to realise they weren’t alone. His face dropped and he first went white, then red. He let go of her and cleared his throat uncomfortably.

Jon and Sansa were still standing next to them, both clearly shocked.

Her brother’s jaw had dropped in surprise, his eyes jumped back and forth between Gendry and her.

Remarkably, her sister seemed rather amused about the situation. She didn’t lecture them about improper behaviour but gave them a smirk.

Jon on the other hand looked as if he would like to kill the blacksmith right on the spot. His hand automatically clenched around Longclaw, making his knuckles go white. He stared directly at Gendry, who returned his look bravely, but a little intimidated.

“Mylord!”

Ser Davos’ voice interrupted their staredown.

“M’lord, we need you in the great hall, there’s-“

He stopped, confused, when he noticed the tense atmosphere he had just walked in on. “Is everything alright?”

Jon frowned at Gendry once more, then he nodded.

“This isn’t over. We’ll talk about this” he said, following his advisor into the castle.


	2. Gendry

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gendry has a very awkward conversation.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here’s the second chapter, this time from Gendry’s POV.   
> It’s a little shorter than the last one, but I hope you like it anyway :))

_Shit_! 

He felt his face getting red from embarrassment and let go of Arya as if he had burned himself.How did he not see them standing there?

Gendry couldn’t believe that he just kissed her in front of the fucking Warden of the North who also happened to be her older brother. 

_Arya’s right, I really am a bull-headed idiot._

Not knowing what to to with his hands now, he folded them behind his back and cleared his throat in an attempt to break the uncomfortable silence. But her siblings just kept staring at the couple in disbelief, apparently unable to say anything.

The Lady of Winterfell was the first to recover from her initial shock and gave them a knowing smile. Jon didn’t take the news as well as she did: his glare made Gendry actually miss the undead dothraki soldier he had fought earlier that night. 

 _He’s going to murder me_.  _He’s going to chop my head off._

Gendry wondered what the northern punishment for kissing a highborn lady was. And how long he could take Jon’s hateful stare. And wether it was too late to run away now.  _I heard Essos is beautiful in the winter..._

“Mylord!” 

He thanked all the gods for Davos‘ timing. That man was a fucking saint!

“M’lord, we need you in the great hall, there’s- ”

He looked back and forth between them.

”Is everything all right?”

After one last disapproving look at Gendry, Jon nodded. “This isn’t over. We’ll talk about this.”, he said menacingly as he followed Davos into the castle. At least for now, the blacksmith got to keep his head.

He turned his attention to Lady Stark, who looked like she enjoyed the whole situation. Her blue eyes studied him from head to toe. Suddenly, he wished he had cleaned himself up a little. His face and clothes were still muddy and full of blood.

“And you are...?“

His face grew even redder than before. 

“Name’s Gendry, m’lady. Gendry Waters.” He cleared his throat again. “I’m a blacksmith. Ser Davos brought me here from King’s Landing.”

Did she just smirk? 

“How exactly does a blacksmith from King’s Landing know my sister?”

He didn’t really know how to answer that. “We’re um, we’re old friends.” Slightly panicked, he looked at Arya. _A little help here?_

She rolled her eyes at him. “We travelled together from the capital after father died.” Her voice got softer. “He saved my life.”

The praise made him uncomfortable. “I didn’t do a lot, m’lady. Your sister never needed much protection from anyone. Just kept her from pickin’ fights with people bigger than her.”

Now Sansa was definitely smiling.“Well in that case, I have to thank you. And don’t worry”, she added with a wink, “I’ll talk to Jon.”

Arya grinned. The Lady of Winterfell nodded at both, then made her way to the Great Hall.

“So, I saved your life then” He chuckled in her ear when Sansa left. “I think that’s the nicest thing you ever said about me.”

“Don’t get used to it.” She replied, still grinning. As he held her in his arms, Gendry swore he was the luckiest bastard alive. Maybe they even had some kind of future.

That was, of course, as long as Jon didn’t kill him.


	3. Arya

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shortly after the battle, Arya has a heartfelt conversation with her siblings.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you guys so much for all your positive feedback! It really motivated me to keep writing :))
> 
> This chapter is all about the relationship between Arya and her siblings. I felt like I needed to explore them a little before Jon eventually talks to Gendry. 
> 
> I hope you like it!

She was standing on top of the partly destroyed walls, watching the sun go up over the bloodsoaked battlefield. Soon, they would have to start burning the bodies. She knew it was necessary, but still shuddered at the thought. _They deserve better. A proper funeral._ But there wasn’t any time. The next war had already begun.

She exhaled heavily and watched her breath form white clouds in the freezing cold air.

In the corner of her eyes she saw an auburn-haired figure moving towards her. Arya turned around and gave her sister a slight smile. Sansa smiled back.

 

“Where’s your blacksmith?”

 

Her cheeks flushed almost immediately. She cleared her throat. “In the forges. They’re trying to reuse some of the metal for new weapons.”

 

“So he’s hiding from Jon”, Sansa concluded with a smirk.

 

Arya laughed. “Pretty much, yes. I can’t blame him though. Jon didn’t seem too happy about the two of us and I haven’t had a chance to talk to him yet.”

 

The Lady of Winterfell chuckled. Like always, she seemed to know exactly what Arya was thinking. It still shocked her sometimes how wise she had become. The naive little girl she remembered was long dead, years of suffering had made her strong and smart beyond her age. The two looked at each other in silence, then Sansa turned her head to the battlefield.

 

“He seems kind”, she said eventually, “I think he suits you.”

 

“You’re not mad that he’s a bastard?”

 

Her look became softer. “I don’t think titles matter much these days. If he makes you happy, then I won’t stand in your way.”

 

At once, Arya was overcome by a wave of affection for her older sister. She hugged her tightly. “Thank you”, she whispered, “that means a lot to me.” 

 

“You should still talk to Jon, though”, Sansa said when they separated again. “I think he’s somewhere in the castle as we speak.”

 

***

 

“Come in.”

 

She opened the heavy wooden door and saw Jon leaning his arms on the big map table, looking troubled. Next to him was the dragon queen, still in the white fur coat she had worn to the battle. Guessing from the mud and bloodstains on it, she must have fought on the ground as well as on her dragon. Her silver braid had loosened and by the redness around her eyes, Arya could tell she had cried.

She remembered the body they had brought in from the battlefield earlier. Jorah Mormont, the queen’s close friend.

 

“Your grace.” She bowed her head slightly. “I heard about Ser Jorah. My condolences.”

 

Daenerys nodded, tears glistening in her eyes. It was the first time Arya had seen her genuinely expressing emotions. She decided she liked her better without the facade the queen put on at court. Somehow it also made her feel sorry for the other woman.

_It must be hard, being in a strange place_ , she thought. _The northerners haven’t been easy on her. Sansa hasn’t, either._

 

“Thank you. And thank you for saving us”, the queen said softly. Her voice sounded genuine.

 

Suddenly, as if she’d noticed the pity in her eyes, the Mother of Dragons seemed to be in control of her feelings again. Her back straightened and all signs of weakness were wiped away.

 

“Westeros is forever in your debt, Lady Stark.” She smiled warmly. “If there’s anything I can do for you, just say the word.”

 

Arya returned the smile.“You’re very kind, your grace, but I’m not a lady. And for now I’d just like a word alone with my brother.”

 

“Of course.” Daenerys Targaryen nodded and left the room, not without one last glance at Jon. The door closed behind her and an uncomfortable silence fell over the room.

 

Arya folded her arms over her chest and stared at her brother, who still hadn’t looked at her since she came in.

 

“So.”

 

He finally lifted his gaze from the map in front of him and met hers. Arya raised an eyebrow in expectation. He sighed and gestured towards two chairs next to the table. They both sat down and Jon cleared his throat.

 

“So. I believe I’m going to get some kind of explanation for earlier?” He didn’t look mad anymore. It relieved her.

 

“Well, you seemed a little confused”, she said laughingly. He chuckled.

 

“Aye, that certainly was...unexpected. I didn’t even realise you two knew each other. After all, we arrived here just a few days ago. How...?”

 

“I’ve actually known him for years. After father’s murder I had to flee King’s Landing. We met on the Kingsroad and travelled together for some time before we eventually got separated.”

 

Jon nodded slightly. “I remember him telling me about it before we went beyond the wall. You were with him then, at Harrenhall? And with the brotherhood?”

 

“Yes. Then they sold him to the red witch and I ran away.” Her gaze darkened at the memory. “I thought she killed him.”

 

Behind the grey eyes she could see his mind working, processing everything. For a moment, they looked at each other silently.

“You truly like him, then?”

 

“I do.”

 

“He’s treatin’ you right?”

 

“Gendry would never hurt me.”

 

Jon sighed. “And it doesn’t matter what I think about it, you’re going to keep seeing him anyway, right?” 

 

Arya took his hand. It was rough and full of little scars, just like hers. “Your opinion matters to me, you know it does. But yes, I’ll keep seeing him, even if you don’t approve.”

 

Her brother laughed. “That’s what I thought. You’ve always done as you pleased, even when you were little.” He smiled, but Arya saw something flash over his eyes. Was it sadness? 

 

Jon sighed again. Deeply. “Gods, you’ve really grown up, have you?”

 

_More than you know._ She gave him a soft smile and he gently squeezed her hand. In that moment, with that look on his face, he somehow reminded her of their father. Quickly, she  blinked away the tears which started filling her eyes at the memory. They stayed like that for a few moments, just watching each other. Then Jon let go of her hand and took a deep breath.

 

“Well, I can’t say I like my little sister kissing someone, but I know Gendry’s a good lad. Just - just don’t do it when I’m around, alright?” He smirked and rose from his chair. Arya got up, as well.

 

“We’d better wash up and try to get some rest. Today’s going to be hard for everyone.”


End file.
